


Charles and Erik Make A Porno

by Butterynutjob



Category: X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe - Movie Fusion, Anal Sex, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Erik is Crushing Harder than a 12-year Old Girl, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Humor, M/M, Roleplay, Romantic Comedy, Roommates, School Reunion, Shaving, Story within a Story, Verbal Humiliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-24
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-03-14 20:14:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3424073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butterynutjob/pseuds/Butterynutjob
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“Can’t two gay men just be friends who want to make a porno together?” Erik grumbled.</i>
</p><p>Erik and Charles have been best friends since high school, and roommates for several years. Their home is about to be taken away and they don’t know what to do about it until Charles’ old friend Emma suggests a unique and sexy way to make money. </p><p>Very, very loosely based on the movie “Zach and Miri Make A Porno”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [同室操戈Charles and Erik Make A Porno](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3912367) by [Glacier](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glacier/pseuds/Glacier)



> Just some smutty, palate-cleansing fluff to counteract all the angst I've been writing recently.

_January 2, 2012_

"It’s So. Fucking. Cold. Out. There!"

Charles stamped snow off his shoes with each word. Despite the truth of those words, Charles seemed to be in an uncommonly good mood, his cheeks pink and his eyes shining. 

“It must be bad if _you’re_ swearing,” Erik grunted in response. He was sitting in the best spot in the room, the one right in front of their circa 1950 radiant heater. Charles walked into the living room, shivering. Erik eyed him and reluctantly moved over so the warmest seat was available. They both knew Charles got colder than he did. 

Charles smiled at him gratefully and sat down next to him in the offered spot. They were still wearing their coats and hats because they kept the house at fifty-five degrees fahrenheit to save money, but Charles took off his gloves and rubbed his hands rapidly together. 

"You know you love it when I swear," he said to Erik, his teeth chattering a little, but with a big smile.

Erik couldn’t help smiling back a little. Charles’ good moods tended to be infectious. “Are you drunk? If so, I hope you brought some for me.”

Charles laughed at his best friend’s comment. “No, and I would have drunk it all if I had! It’s too cold to be sober.”

“That it is,” Erik sighed, because money was tight enough that even alcohol was a luxury they couldn’t afford.

Charles had gotten halfway through his graduate degree at Oxford before he’d run out of money. Although he had grown up wealthy, his step-father had made some very poor investments and had lost most of the family’s fortune in the financial meltdown of 2008. It left Charles with a Bachelor’s degree and half a master’s degree, which was basically equivalent to a pile of shit when it came to getting a job. He managed to earn money in various ways, mostly by tutoring a few kids in their small town of Westchester, but since all the schools were on winter break now, Charles’ income source was dry. 

And since Erik worked in construction, when the weather was like this, he didn’t work either. It did not bode well for them being able to increase the temperature in their old and poorly insulated home. 

“Are you lost in there?” Charles said, teasing Erik out of his negative thought spiral. 

Erik didn't answer for a moment, staring straight ahead. He had a bushy red beard; actually, they both had bushy red beards that they had started growing in October. It was warmer that way. 

“Sorry,” Erik said finally. “Just worrying about how we are going to get through this winter.”

“You can worry about that tomorrow,” Charles said briskly. “Tonight, you have plans.”

“I do?” Erik gave Charles a skeptical glance. “Besides climbing under my covers and watching Netflix?” Internet service was, after all, the one thing they really couldn’t do without, so they had paid it up five months in advance.

“You forgot,” Charles shaking, clucking and shaking his head. “Erik, tonight is our ten-year high school reunion!”

“Our--oh.” Erik and Charles had been best friends since they had met freshman year in highschool, almost fourteen years before. But Erik didn’t keep in touch with anyone else from high school for a reason. “I really have no need to see any of those people, Charles.”

“Well, me neither,” Charles said, rolling his eyes. “But you know what will be there? Drinks. And buffet-style finger foods. And warmth that we don’t have to pay for.”

Erik narrowed his eyes at Charles suspiciously. “Buffet-style finger foods?”

“There will be an open bar,” Charles said in a sing-song voice. 

“What? You buried the lead!” Erik jumped up. “When does it start? Can we go now?”

“Not for two hours, and you cannot go looking like that,” Charles said, pursing his lips. “You look like a hipster viking.”

“You look like a ginger gerbil,” Erik retorted. His mood had improved despite himself. 

“Fuck you,” Charles said with a grin.

“Fuck you, too.” Erik said, grinning right back at him.

**

“Erik,” Charles yelled from the shower. “Are you going to shave your beard?”

“No need to yell, I’m right here,” Erik said. They only had one bathroom and it was currently the warmest (if steamiest) room in the house. Erik was looking in the mirror with an electric trimmer in his hand, wearing only a towel around his waist.

Charles peered around the curtain until he saw Erik. “Hey! I gave you your privacy when you were showering!” 

Erik grunted as he started to use the trimmer on his beard. “It’s too cold for privacy.”

“I could have been jerking off,” Charles protested. He was still watching Erik in the mirror.

Erik tapped the electric trimmer on the edge of the sink to shake some red hairs out of it. “No, you don’t jerk off in the shower.”

It was true, but Charles couldn’t remember how he knew that. “And you know that how?”

Erik met Charles’s eyes in the mirror for a moment and smirked, but didn’t respond. Charles shook his head and retreated back behind the shower curtain. The image of Erik smirking at him dressed only in a towel felt like it was burned into his retina for a moment. He finished rinsing off and turned off the water. “If you’re still here, would you please hand me a--oh, thank you.” Erik had stuck his arm into the shower with a towel. 

“I’m not shaving it off completely,” he said as Charles stepped out of the shower with a towel around his waist. “I don’t want my face to freeze off next week.”

“You almost look like a human being,” Charles said lightly. He actually looked more like a model, but Charles wasn’t going to say that.

“Be nice, or I’ll steal your towel,” Erik said. Charles clutched his towel nervously; when Erik had that evil glint in his eye, it was exactly the kind of thing he was likely to do. 

Erik laughed and handed the trimmer to Charles. “Your turn. Let me know if you need a second opinion.” He slid past Charles to exit the bathroom. Charles decided to follow Erik’s lead and keep the beard for warmth, but he did trim it back quite a bit.

“I hope you have something halfway decent to wear,” Charles called out the bathroom door. 

They both, in fact, managed to scrounge up suit jackets (they decided full suits would be too formal) and nice button-down shirts (no ties). Charles tried to add a sweater vest to his ensemble but Erik vetoed it vehemently. “You look enough like a nerd,” was his comment. He did agree to let Charles wear both of their jackets if he got too cold, though. 

**

When they walked up, the girl at the desk recognized them immediately. “Oh my gawsh are you two together?” She squealed, at least an octave too high. “I knew you would be!”

“We’re not together,” Erik said brusquely, “we just happened to arrive together. What is this?” The last three words were in reference to two little pink tickets she handed him along with his name badge. 

“Those are your drink tickets,” She said in an impossibly excited voice. “If you want more than two drinks, though, you can definitely buy more, there’s plenty of alcohol!”

Erik swivelled his head to stare at Charles. “Open bar?” He asked dryly, with a raised eyebrow.

“I might have exaggerated,” Charles said, collecting his nametag and tickets from Perky Perkerson. “But two drinks are better than no drinks, right?”

Erik made a noise like a growl and walked into the large decorated room. In addition to the questionable color combination of brown and yellow streamers, there were several cheap faux-disco ball decorations hanging from the ceiling that looked like they were actually balls of used tin foil, a few pieces of neon-pink inflatable couches, and a series of the senior pictures of their 2002 graduating class being projected onto the wall. The resulting effect was that the room looked like it had been decorated by an insane 11-year-old. Charles shuddered at the complete tackiness of it all.

“Maybe the evening won’t be a complete waste, even if I can’t get drunk,” Erik said, craning his neck trying to look at the entire room at once. “I think I see Alex over there. He said at one point that he’d wanted to blow me. Maybe tonight will be his lucky night.”

“Not to rain on your parade, but I think he’s with Armando,” Charles said calmly, and perhaps a bit smugly. 

“Hmm. We’ll see,” Erik responded archly.

“I don’t want to have people chewing my ear off about how you are a homewrecker, Erik,” Charles said, nettled, as they walked to the bar. 

Erik craned his neck. “He looks like he’s alone. I’m gonna take my shot. Here, get me a drink, would you?” Erik shoved a pink ticket into Charles’ hand and was off through the crowd.

“Oh, sure, just abandon me,” Charles muttered. He turned to the bartender and dropped his jaw in shock when he saw who it was. “Logan!”

“Oh, hey, Chuck.” Logan gave him a nice smile. A _very_ nice smile. “How have you been?”

“Good, thank you,” Charles said, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks. Logan was Erik’s ex-boyfriend, and as such was off-limits for Charles. 

Logan looked at him a moment more and his smile gradually got wider. Finally, he said softly, “Are you gonna order a drink, or just look at me all night?”

“Oh! Um. Scotch, neat and a dry vodka martini.” Charles was definitely blushing now. 

As Logan made the drinks, he shot Charles a look. “I don’t suppose you’ve reconsidered going out with me?”

“I, uh, thanks, um, but, well…” Charles stammered, trying to decline gracefully. 

Logan laughed, not unkindly. “Sorry, kid. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. But this is a small town - not a lot of options for gay men to begin with, so when you limit your options with a silly rule like that…” Logan shrugged. He handed Charles his drinks. “I might be able to slip you a few more, later,” he said under his breath, with a wink. 

“Thank you,” Charles said faintly. Maybe he should talk to Erik about Logan. Logan had a point…

He turned around and almost ran into a beautiful blond woman. “Oh!” He exclaimed, and then immediately said, “Emma? Emma Pryzgoda?”

“Hi, sugar,” Emma said with a sultry smile. She was wearing a clingy white dress with a plunging neckline and was turning heads all over the room. “It’s Emma Frost, now.” 

Charles had known Emma since first grade. She actually held a dubious distinction in his life that nobody else knew about, not even Erik, and Emma had been Charles’ de facto best friend until he’d met Erik. They had drifted apart a bit in high school but he still considered her a good friend - even if they hadn’t spoken in he-couldn’t-remember-how-many years.

“I’m _so_ happy to see you,” Charles exclaimed, sincerely. “I thought you moved to Los Angeles! Wait, you have a new name? Are you married?”

She gave him a broad smile. “It’s good to see you, too, Charles. Why don’t we find a place to sit and catch up? I’m afraid you’ve lost about half that martini already.” She indicated the drink in Charles’ hand that he was carrying for Erik if the man ever reappeared.

They sat at a nearby table. “I did move to Los Angeles,” Emma said. “But, no, I’m not married, god no. Frost is a stage name.”

Charles inhaled in delight. “Oh my goodness, are you an actress? That’s what you always wanted! How wonderful!”

“Well,” she said carefully, her eyes sliding away from his, “I am, but probably not how you mean.”

“What would I have you seen you in? I’ll look it up right away,” Charles said loyally. 

She hummed for a moment. “My first starring role was in ‘Melting the Ice Princess.’ It’s unlikely that you’ve seen it.”

Charles gaped. “A starring role, Emma! That is wonderful. Let me check to see where I can rent it.” Charles pulled out his iPhone but Emma stopped his hand. 

“You may not want to do that here,” she said, still smiling but with an odd inflection to her voice. “It’s--NSFW.”

“Oh.” Charles looked at Emma again and his eyes widened. “ _Oh._ ”

“Yep,” she said, inhaling and inflating her cleavage. “I’m a porn star.”

Charles’s jaw dropped and he just stared at Emma before he laughed. 

“I’m not joking,” Emma said, with a slight frown at Charles’ reaction. 

Charles wiped a tear of laughter from his eye. “Oh, I know you’re not. But, Emma, you are utterly unflappable. Only you would sit here, cool as a cucumber, and tell someone you haven’t seen in ten years that you are now a porn star.”

Emma looked at him for a moment and then chuckled herself. “I’ve missed you, Charles.”

Erik appeared at the side of his table. “Did you drink this?” He demanded of Charles, indicating the half-empty martini glass in front of Charles. 

“No, it’s just martini glasses are the stupidest design on earth,” Charles retorted. “Erik, you remember Emma?”

Erik looked at her blankly for a moment. “Of course,” he said, staring at her cleavage. “How are you, Emma?”

“I’m a porn star now,” she said. 

“Oh, that’s great.” he turned back to Charles. “I’m going to get another drink because I will finish this one on the way to the bar. You want one?”

“Yes, a scotch please,” Charles said. Erik held out his hand for Charles’ other drink ticket and Charles hesitated. “Logan’s the bartender. I...think you won’t need this if you tell him it’s for me.”

Erik locked gazes with Charles for a minute and Erik frowned ever so briefly before he pressed his lips together and nodded. He turned and started wending his way through the crowd to the bar.

“He is so weird,” Emma said with a sigh. “He stares at my tits, but he doesn’t ever seem to hear me when I speak. You would think he was straight.”

“He’s bi,” Charles said with a shrug, “and he’s rude.” 

“And you and he are…?” She let the question hang and looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“Erik and I? No. Nothing. Well, not nothing, we’re friends, obviously, and roommates, but we’re not…” he trailed off because Emma’s eyebrows had raised so high they were threatening her hair line. 

“How long have you been roommates?” She said, a confused frown on her face. 

“Oh, let’s see, about three and a half years now,” Charles said, thinking back to when it was that he’d had to leave Oxford with his tail between his legs. 

“And you guys don’t - fuck?” Emma took a sip of her drink and caught the cherry in her mouth. 

“No! No. Like I said. We’re just friends.” Charles realized that he needed to change the subject or Emma, like every other one of his friends, would keep questioning him on how two gay men could live together as friends and not have sex. “Tell me about working in porn, Emma.”

Charles knew that working in porn could not be glamorous, but Emma had a way of talking that made it seem like it was, well, fun. She said she always got treated very well by the people making the film, all actors were tested for STDs frequently, and she got to meet any potential sex partners and veto them in advance if they weren’t guys she wanted to fuck. 

When Charles worked up enough nerve to ask her how much money she made he nearly coughed on his scotch. “$2,500 per scene?” he said in disbelief. 

“Yes, but that’s nothing,” she said, waving it away. “The real money is in production. I’ve been thinking about transitioning to that.”

“Really?” Charles was impressed. He was also very pleasantly drunk after finishing two drinks and being halfway into his third (Erik had distractedly delivered him two scotches and then said he would be back later. Charles hoped that for Erik’s sake he wasn’t hooking up with his ex-boyfriend Logan, although that did seem to be the strongest possibility.)

Emma seemed like she might be a little drunk, too. She leaned forward conspiratorially. “Do you know that all it takes to make an incredibly good porngraphic movie is a couple of iPhones and talent?” 

Charles stared at Emma close up, her gossamer hair a curtain around her face, her blue eyes sharp and intelligent, her lips the perfect color of pink. “If I were into women, Emma, I swear.”

She laughed, looking at him with amusement. “Oh honey! Been there, done that, remember?”

“Of course,” Charles said, smiling. Emma was the only woman--well, she’d been a girl at the time--that Charles had ever had sex with. The summer between his junior and senior year he had sought her out for that very reason - curiosity. He had been very direct with her about what he wanted and why, and she agreed. It was not a completely successful copulation, but they had both still had fun. Charles remembers they laughed quite a bit but it had been so long ago that he couldn’t remember all the details. Despite the fact that the experience cemented for Charles that he was gay, he still remembered it fondly.

“You could set me up with someone who actually likes girls,” she said, smiling up at someone who was walking towards the table. 

“This place is dead,” Erik said. He glanced at Emma for a moment and then back to Charles. “You ready to go?”

“Not at all, actually, I’m having a lovely time,” Charles said, giving Erik a challenging look.

Erik scowled and sat down next to Charles. “Porn star, huh?” He said to Emma, stealing a sip of Charles’ drink. 

Her cheeks actually colored slightly, which after the frank way she had been talking to Charles without batting an eyelash surprised Charles. “Oh, he deigns to speak to me! Thank you, Your Highness.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Erik muttered. He was still scanning the room, making a last-ditch attempt to find a hookup for the evening. Charles wondered what had happened with Logan.

“Nothing, sugar.” Emma stood up and inhaled impressively, drawing every eye within a 20-foot radius to her tight white dress, including Charles and Erik, several women and men at nearby tables, and probably any other life forms that happened to witness the occurrence. “It was so good to see you, Charles,” Emma murmured, bending over and kissing him on the cheek, giving him an excellent view down her dress if he cared to look. “I’ll be in town for a few more weeks if you want to have lunch sometime.”

“I would love that,” Charles said honestly. They exchanged phone numbers and she left, her hips swaying as she coolly made her way out of the event. 

“If I wasn’t gay…” sighed Charles, looking after her. 

“She’s a slut,” Erik said dismissively. “She’d cheat on you.”

“Is that your assumption because she works in adult films?” Charles said testily.

“No, it’s what I remember about her from high school,” Erik said. “She’ll sleep with anyone.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Charles said calmly. He known Emma was promiscuous in high school, but he didn’t think that was a reason to dislike her. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Erik that he thought Emma might like Erik, but he decided to keep that to himself. He could be leaping to conclusions, anyway.

“ _Now_ do you wanna get out of here?” Erik said in a low voice. “I’m bored.”

“Back to our freezing house and empty cupboards?” Charles sighed. “Sure.”

**

Two days later, there was a terrible storm and they got snowed in. It also happened to be the day their gas service was turned off for non-payment, unfortunately, which meant they had no heat. They were huddled in the warmest room in the small house, the living room, looking for things they could burn for heat when Erik found a bill on the table he hadn’t noticed before. 

“Oh, shit,” He said out loud, scanning the document quickly. “This is bad.”

“What?” said Charles. He was dressed as if he were going to take a walk in Antarctica, sitting on the couch and playing a game on his iPhone.

Erik sighed. “Apparently I owe property taxes.”

Charles frowned at him. “On what?”

“On this house.” Because both his parents had died when he was a baby, Erik had been raised by his grandmother in the house he and Charles resided at. She had left it to him in her will when she’d passed away about four years previously.

“But I thought the house was paid off,” Charles said. “I thought you owned it free and clear.” Not having to pay rent was one of the best things about living with Erik, after all. Okay, it was _the_ best thing. 

“According this to, even non-mortgaged properties are subject to annual taxes...fuck, I’ve never paid this.” Erik’s eyes kept scanning the letter. “They allow a five-year grace period before the county can sell the property in an auction. Shit!”

Erik was quiet a moment before Charles timidly asked, “How much do they want?”

“They want payments back from 2008, plus fees and interest…” Erik sat down and passed the letter to Charles, even as he said unhappily, “About $9,000.”

“Nine thousand dollars!” There would have been a time that Charles would have had that in a bank account, plus a lot more. But ever since his stepfather Kurt had informed him that the mansion he’d grown up in had been not only mortgaged but also foreclosed on, and that Charles would have to fend for himself, he hadn’t seen more than a couple hundred dollars at a time. 

Erik knew that, but he still looked at Charles helplessly. “You don’t happen to have that stuffed in a mattress somewhere, do you?”

Charles barked out a laugh. “I do have something I’ve been saving, but it’s not money. Logan slipped me a bottle of rum on our way out the other night. He said they wouldn’t miss it.”

“You’ve been sitting on that for two days?” Erik exclaimed. “Bust it out!”

“I was hoping to wait for something we could celebrate,” Charles said with a sigh, “But that does not seem to be the direction of the trend.” Charles pulled the bottle out of his jacket pocket and passed it to Erik, who took a swig and passed it back. 

“Logan gave you this?” Erik asked while Charles drank. “And he didn’t even require any sexual favors?” He was joking, a little, but there was a kind of tension behind his tone that Charles noticed. 

“He’s off-limits,” Charles said firmly. “I’m not interested in going where you’ve been.”

Erik shrugged but seemed pleased. They had made a makeshift fire pit out of an old washing machine in the middle of the living room and filled it with tree branches, junk mail, and one small end table that Erik had especially disliked. It put out some heat and an ambiance of camping that Charles enjoyed for its novelty. He’d never been camping as a child. 

“We _are_ celebrating something, by the way,” Erik said, putting an arm around Charles, which coincidentally made it easier for him to reach the bottle of rum. “We’re young and we’ve got our health. And each other.” He tipped the bottle at Charles and gave him a quick shark-like grin before he drank. 

The rum was making Charles feel warmer already. “Keep your arm there,” he mumbled, feeling drowsy. “It’s warm.” And Erik smelled good...but Erik always smelled good. 

Charles fell asleep feeling oddly happy, the warmth of his best friend pressed against his side and the warmth of the fire on his face. Despite the money problems, Erik was right. At least they had each other.

**

Charles woke up early the next morning because sunlight was stabbing him in the eye. Erik still had an arm wrapped around him, his breath warm on Charles’ neck, and he had apparently grabbed a blanket to put over the two of them at some point so even though the fire had gone out Charles was plenty warm. 

An idea which had been percolating through his consciousness burst to the forefront of his mind and Charles sat up with a gasp. “I know how we can get the money for the property taxes,” he said. 

Erik was still sleeping, leaning against the couch back now, the long line of his throat exposed. “Mmmell emm muh,” he said, reaching for Charles and trying to haul him back into Erik’s embrace. 

“It’s _me_ , you dope,” Charles said, not without affection. Erik’s eye opened a crack and he stretched and yawned hugely.

“We survived the night,” he said, his voice thick with sleep. “Success.” 

Charles politely did not say anything about Erik’s obvious morning boner, but he swallowed as he realized how it pertained to what he was about to say. “I have an idea, Erik.”

“So you said,” Erik replied, pulling the blanket up a bit self-consciously as he noticed what Charles had noticed a moment or two before.

Charles suddenly felt panic. What if Erik didn’t think it was a good idea? It would look like he was propositioning his best friend, and then Erik would feel like he had to let Charles down gently. They had a great relationship. He didn’t want to upset that balance. 

“Well?” Erik said, looking at him expectantly. “Don’t leave me hanging, boy genius.”

Charles found himself blushing and mumbling. “We could manna perner.”

“We could what?”

Charles swallowed and tried again, his heart pounding. “We could make a porno.”

Erik just looked at him for a moment incredulously before he laughed. “Wait, what? Did Emma give you ideas?”

It was on the tip of Charles’ tongue to deny it, but he realized it was true. “I suppose she did. Erik, she makes _$2,500 per scene_. And she said that the real money is in production. And that all one really needs to produce is a couple iPhones and talent.”

Erik’s lip quirked. “I have been told I’m talented.”

“I suck dick better than you and we both know it,” Charles said matter-of-factly. Erik laughed. All he knew is that Charles insisted it was true, and Charles knew that Erik got a kick out of when Charles said dirty things.

“Well, if it’s so easy, why isn’t everyone doing it?” Erik asked reasonably.

“Because everyone else has standards, and pride, and family. And jobs.” 

“I have a job,” Erik said defensively. “It’s just off-season.”

“Well, according to that letter, we need to have nine thousand dollars in eight weeks. Will you get that at your job?”

He wouldn’t and they both knew it; construction work was scarce this that time of year and even more scarce in that weather. Erik was frowning, looking at Charles consideringly. His cheeks seemed a little redder than usual, but it could have been the remnants of sleep in his face. “So--what, we just--have sex, and film it? Who films it? Where does the money come from? How does distribution work?”

Charles felt tension he didn’t even know he’d been holding in his body eke out of him. Erik was doing what he did best; dealing with the details. He hadn’t even batted an eye at the idea of having sex with Charles. “Those are great questions. Emma will be around for a few more weeks; I thought I would have lunch with her and see if she knows or is willing to help.”

Erik frowned a little; Charles was picking up that something about Emma irritated him. Charles figured Erik would tell him when he was ready.

“I’m surprised you’re not freaked out by the idea of having sex with me,” Charles dared to say after a moment, because that’s all he could think about.

Erik looked at him in surprise. “Well, you’re not completely revolting,” he pointed out with a smirk. 

Charles hit him in the head with a throw pillow. “Fuck you.”

“Fuck you, too,” Erik said with a grin as he stood up to start his day.

**

To Charles’ surprise, Erik wanted to come along to lunch with Emma. Charles explained to her what he was thinking while Erik mostly kept silent. 

Emma, of course, took the idea in stride, like it was the most natural thing in the world. “I’d be happy to help,” she even said, her eyes sliding over the two of them assessingly. “I know how to access monetized online distribution channels, which is the one thing you will definitely need. I can hold a camera phone, too, but I have a friend in town who is perhaps better equipped to do that than I.”

Erik looked impressed despite himself. Charles felt smugly pleased that Erik was getting a little glimpse at the Emma Charles knew, the smart and sharp thinker, not just seeing her as the girl who would blow guys behind the bleachers in high school. 

“Do I know your friend?” Charles asked. 

Emma shook her head. “I doubt it. I met her in LA, but she moved near here not long ago. She volunteered as a PA on some mainstream films and also works as a stripper. So it’s hard to faze her.”

“How soon before we start making money?” Erik said, ever direct and to the point. 

“Well, if you have a good product...it will actually start rolling in right away,” Emma said. “There’s a definite lack of gay male porn with a good script, and that will be your biggest challenge. Does either of you have acting experience?”

“I have three years of drama, between high school and college,” Charles said proudly. 

“I’m a pretty good liar,” Erik said with a shrug.

Emma looked between the both of them. “May I give you some advice? There are some things about having sex on camera that I don’t know if you’ve considered.”

Erik stiffened instinctively, as he always did at hearing the word “advice” but Charles sat up straighter. “Absolutely; that’s why we’re here!”

“It’s best if you do it with no condoms,” she said bluntly. “You will both want to get tested for any and all diseases right away. Be prepared to shave everything, obviously your faces, but also your gential areas including your balls and the crack of your ass. Whoever is going to bottom will want to have at least one enema in advance, perhaps two.” She paused. “Have I scared you yet?”

Charles was actually feeling a little aroused. “Not yet,” he said, smiling. 

Emma smiled slightly, and then said, “Okay, you passed my test. I have a wonderful script I’ve been sitting on - I’ve been waiting to meet just the right actors. And even though you two don’t have the experience, I think you have enough chemistry that you can pull it off.”

“We can pull it off,” Charles said, so excited he could hardly stay seated. “Oh, please, Emma, we want that script!”

“What’s the story?” Erik asked, coolly. He couldn’t help smiling at Charles’ reaction--seriously, sometimes he was as cute as a puppy when he got excited--but Erik was always the more cautious of the two of them.

“It’s two prisoners sharing a cell who fall in love,” Emma said. “There is a third character required near the end, but it’s not a big deal. I could play that part.”

“I love it,” Charles exclaimed while Erik said at the same time, “That’s doesn’t seem like much of a plot.”

“Plot is subjective,” Emma said. “The beauty of this script is how the two men at first distrust and hate each other and gradually they fall in love.”

Erik had to admit, he would watch that. Especially if the actors were hot and had chemistry. He pictured himself and Charles playing those roles and even felt his cock start to get hard. “You think we have chemistry?” he said finally. 

“Oh, sugar,” was Emma’s only response.

**

They went to get tested for their STD panels together, knowing they would have to deal with all the girls in the office cooing over what a cute couple they made. 

“Can’t two gay roommates just be friends who want to make a porno together?” Erik grumbled as they sat in the clinic waiting room to get blood drawn. 

Charles didn’t mind so much when they were mistaken for a couple, but he didn’t want to look at that too closely. 

It was still an icebox at their home, but with something to work on, both Charles and Erik felt a greater sense of purpose than they had in a long while. Another nice thing about the script Emma described was that no change of scenery or costumes was required. They did have to build a set, but since Charles had been sleeping in the living room to be near the fire pit most nights anyway, they simply shoved most of Charles’ things against one wall and built the prison-cell set there. 

Emma’s friend Angel came by to meet them, and both Charles and Erik liked her. She was very down to earth and non-judgemental, and she gave them some tips on finishing the set so it would look more realistic. 

“She’s cute,” Erik commented right after she left. “But I suppose that one of the requirements to be a stripper.”

Charles had completely forgotten that Emma said Angel was a stripper, but it made more sense that Erik would remember that detail, as he (sometimes) claimed to be bisexual. 

They got their test results back soon; they had both tested clean across the board. “Thanks for not being as big of a whore as you could have been at Oxford,” Erik joked on their way out. 

“Oh, I was a whore, just a careful one,” Charles responded easily. “And you’re one to talk! You might as well have walked around our high school reunion wearing a sign around your neck that said ‘Please fuck me.’”

“That might have worked better,” Erik sighed. Charles had been right about Alex and Armando, of course. And Logan had for some reason brushed him off as well.

**

Since time was of the essence in getting the money together to pay off their property taxes, as soon as they knew they were disease-free, Charles called Emma. 

“We’re ready,” he said. 

“The script,” Erik hissed in the background. 

“Oh right.” Charles turned his attention back to his phone. “Can you please send us a copy of the script?”

“Oh, no, you didn’t get it?” Emma exclaimed. “The attachment must have been too big. I’m sorry. Tell you what - I will email you a smaller PDF of just the first couple scenes tonight, and I will bring you both printed copies of the entire script tomorrow too.”

Charles explained that to Erik, who rolled his eyes but said it was fine. It seemed that Emma got on his nerves no matter what she did. 

“I’ll arrange with Angel to be there around 5pm tomorrow,” Emma said. “The first scene is supposed to be a night scene. Don’t shave tonight, or you’ll have a five o’clock shadow on your balls by the time we start and nobody wants that. Shave in the morning.” 

Emma’s complete ease of speaking that way still boggled Charles’ mind somewhat. 

“We need to shave tomorrow morning,” he told Erik. “Oh--maybe I should call her back and ask about the, um, enemas?”

Erik was looking at his phone and he shook his head. “I got the pages she sent. It looks like the only sex is oral sex.”

Charles suddenly realized--he was going to have sex with his best friend. Tomorrow. He felt a little dizzy and a little aroused. “Are we gonna be okay?” he asked Erik abruptly. 

“What do you mean?” Erik asked, looking at Charles. Charles had a feeling that Erik knew what he meant, though. 

“It’s not going to be--different, between us, after?” Charles swallowed as Erik seemed to be carefully considering a response. “I don’t want things to get weird.”

“Well, it might be too late for _that_ ,” Erik said with a smile. “But I think we’re strong enough for this or I wouldn’t have agreed to it. We’re brothers, you and I.”

“Brothers who are going to fuck,” Charles said, smiling and shaking his head. It wasn’t exactly the word Charles would have chosen, but it had connotations of family and warmth and trust that certainly were appropriate to their relationship. 

**

The shaving ending up being problematic. 

Erik googled a Youtube video on ‘how to shave balls’ which made Charles laugh at him which made Erik irritable. Then Charles was very irritable later when he realized he needed some help reaching areas he couldn’t reach on his own. He warred with his pride and the electric trimmer for about thirty minutes before he timidly called for Erik.

“What?” Erik said through the door.

“Would it horrify you if I - um - asked for some assistance?”

There was a pause, and then Charles heard Erik chuckle. He came in the door to find Charles completely naked, straddling the toilet, on whose seat he had placed a mirror. Charles was craning his neck trying to look at what he was doing, the electric trimmer in one hand and a safety razor in the other. 

“Kinky,” Erik said dryly, leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded. 

Charles looked at Erik in exasperation. “Did you learn anything helpful from your Youtube video or not?”

“I did,” Erik said, relenting. “Come to the living room.”

Charles followed, still naked and holding the shaving items, trying and mostly succeeding in not being self-conscious because Erik was going to see him in more compromising positions soon enough - and so would everyone else. 

“Lie down on your back,” Erik instructed, indicating a towel he had already spread out on the couch. 

Charles gave him a look. “This was already here. You were expecting me to need help.”

“Yes, I was,” Erik said, but he didn’t seem as smug as Charles had expected him to be. There was something - softer about him. 

Charles looked at the towel with a little trepidation. What Erik was suggesting was incredibly intimate, more so than having sex on camera. He felt a thrill run down his spine. Fortunately the weather had warmed up considerably in the past couple days so being in the living room naked was not a death sentence. 

“Alright,” he said, in a show of reluctance. He lay down on the towel and put his knees up. He didn’t dare look down. 

“Can you spread your legs a little wider?” Erik asked. His voice was soft and seemed somehow thicker. Charles felt the warm breath on his inner thigh and tried desperately to think about unsexy things so he wouldn’t get an erection. 

It was a losing battle. He felt Erik’s hands gently moving his balls as he lathered them with warm shaving cream and he couldn’t prevent his body from reacting physically.

“I’m sorry,” Charles choked when he could not longer pretend to himself or Erik that he didn’t have an erection. 

“It’s perfectly natural,” Erik murmured. He seemed very focused on what he was doing, very carefully pulling the razor across the most sensitive parts of Charles body. “Keeps your cock up and out of the way, anyway. I imagine I’ll have one when you do me.”

Charles did not physically react to Erik’s words only because he was forcing himself to stay absolutely still while Erik had a sharp object so close to Charles’ penis. He was going to shave Erik too? Of course he was, that was only fair. 

“Can you roll up and spread your cheeks?” Erik asked. Charles glanced at his face and wished he hadn’t if only because Erik’s lips were parted and his eyes dark. He looked far sexier than Charles was comfortable recognizing.

“If I don’t die of humiliation,” Charles muttered. Erik chuckled. He attended to the hairs around Charles’ asshole with the same meticulous care that he had applied to shaving Charles’ balls. Charles’ back was aching by the time Erik said, “Done.”

Charles rolled down slowly from his awkward position and ran a hand across the shaved area. “It feels nice,” he admitted. “Um, thank you?”

Erik grinned big. “Go rinse off, then take care of me.”

Charles really wanted to jerk off in the shower (even though Erik was right about that fact that he didn’t ever jerk off there) but he decided that it might be better for filming that evening if he didn’t--he didn’t want to encounter any problems holding an erection. He rinsed off quickly and caught his breath when he found Erik naked and waiting for him in the living room. 

He hadn’t seen Erik naked in a while, he realized, his eyes running down the man’s golden skin and lean frame. Erik saw him looking and raised an eyebrow.

“I should be able to get through it,” Charles with an air of affected casualness as Erik grinned and shook his head. Erik lay back on the towel, looking at Charles through half-lidded eyes. Charles came around between his legs and his mouth went dry to see his best friend laid out in front of him like that. It was both incredibly tantalizing while at the same time a part of Charles’ brain was screaming that no this is _Erik_ not supposed to have these feelings about _Erik_!

He ignored his internal conflict as best he could. “You remember what I did to you? How I did it?” Erik asked. His face was still flushed and Charles tried not to gawk at Erik’s cock, which was engorging as he spoke. 

“Yes,” Charles managed to say, settling between Erik’s legs and putting the razor and washcloth nearby and within easy reach. He started lathering the foam on, moving slowly and carefully, which only made Erik’s erection more turgid. 

“Jesus, you have a big dick,” Charles said finally, when he couldn’t stand not addressing it any more. 

Erik huffed but had to hold himself mostly still for the obvious reason. “You say that like you haven’t seen it before.”

“That was a very long time ago,” Charles murmured. There had been one evening in high school, in the winter of their junior year, when they’d jerked off together. They hadn’t ever talked about sexuality before that point, but Charles had begun to suspect that he might be gay. He and Erik hadn’t touched each other, but he had been obviously looking at Erik’s cock - and he’d seen Erik looking at his. Unfortunately they had been interrupted by Charles’ stepfather, who’d had a fit and prohibited Erik from ever coming over again and basically humiliated the both of them. They didn’t talk for nearly a year after that, and by unspoken agreement they had never viewed each other in a sexual context again. 

And Charles would have bet money that the cock currently erect and inches away from his face was bigger than the one he had glimpsed twelve years before, anyway.

“Time to roll up,” Charles said, trying to make his voice sound as normal as possible. Erik did, and propped his hands on his lower back to keep himself in place. Charles began carefully applying the foam between Erik’s ass cheeks.

“I keep trying to pretend to myself that this is normal,” he admitted to Erik as he started to very carefully shave the hairs around his pucker. “But at this point, I have to admit it’s not.”

“It’s definitely not normal,” Erik agreed. His voice sounded a little strained. Charles peered over his massive (still erect) cock to look his face. 

“Are you okay? Need anything?”

Erik looked like he was going to say something for a moment but then just shook his head. Charles couldn’t help noticing that the swollen head of Erik’s cock was only inches from his mouth. “Can you suck your own dick?” He exclaimed excitedly.

Erik groaned. “No, I can’t. Can you please focus on what you’re doing?”

“Oh! Right.” Charles was almost done, anyway. He carefully shaved the last few parts and then couldn’t help dragging his fingers across the areas he’d shaved just to see if any stray hairs remained. Erik made a strangled noise.

“Sorry,” Charles said, unrepentantly. It was kind of fun to make Erik squirm.

“All done,” he said, and helped Erik roll into an upright position. “Are you sure you can’t suck you own dick? It looked pretty close.”

“Honestly, Charles,” Erik said, standing up and walking to the shower. He sounded almost affronted. “You think I haven’t tried?”

**

The first scene. The script described the two men as one being a biker and a seasoned prison veteran, and the other was someone jailed for insider trading and money laundering. 

“Which one am I?” Charles asked, blinking at Emma. Both Erik and Emma looked at him in disbelief. 

“You’re the white-collar criminal, baby,” Angel said gently to Charles. “Hey, you know, I can do makeup, too. You want me to draw some tattoos on Erik?”

They debated the logistics of having to re-draw the tattoos every time versus making Erik look more believable as a biker and criminal. 

“Maybe just a face tattoo?” Emma suggested. “He’ll look tough, but it won’t take hours to put on again each time.”

Charles read the script while Angel drew a complicated tribal tattoo on Erik’s face. Erik and Angel and were talking and laughing in low voices and it made it hard for Charles to concentrate, but he did gather that the first scene was Charles’ character’s first day in prison and he was terrified. Erik was going to offer him his protection services in exchange for a blow-job. 

Since Angel seemed to be taking her sweet time about applying the tattoo, Charles read the script through to the end and he frowned when he got to the last couple of scenes. “Emma,” he said carefully, “There’s going to be sex with the jailer? Who’s the jailer?”

“Well, that’s me, sugar,” Emma said with a smile. “That’s not a problem, is it?”

Charles shook his head with a slight frown. The script called for Erik’s character to have sex with the jailer while Charles’ character escaped the prison. “I just don’t know how Erik’s going to feel about that.”

“I guess we’ll see, won’t we,” she murmured, watching Erik laughing at something Angel said. 

Charles felt generally kind of irritable by the time they started filming. They were both wearing scrubs dyed a bright orange, Angel’s idea, which even Charles had to admit was a cheap and effective costuming solution in lieu of actual prison jumpsuits.

_A man wearing glasses stumbles into the cell holding a folded gray blanket and a toothbrush in his hand. “Hello,” he says nervously to the man lounging on the lower bunk._

_The man with the tattooed face stands up and walks over to the new arrival, standing far too close. He smiles cruelly. “Hello, new toy.”_

_The shorter man visibly swallows and pushes his glasses up on his face. “Um, my name is Francis, actually. And you are…?”_

_The man with the tattooed face doesn’t reply right away, instead looking over Francis carefully. “Max,” he says finally. Francis sticks out his hand to shake and Max just looks at it. Francis awkwardly takes his hand back and puts his things on the bunk opposite Max. Max immediately crowds him from behind._

_“Prison can be a rough place,” Max muses, as he stroked a hand down Francis’ cheek. “People can get hurt if they're not careful here.”_

_Francis cowers from Max’s touch. “Please, don’t hurt me,” he whispers. He turns around slowly. “I’m not a fool; I know what happens in prisons, and I know I’m not strong, or big. I’ll cooperate. Just please--”_

_Max gives Francis a vaguely surprised look. “Already a cock-whore,” he murmurs. “What a nice surprise.”_

_Max shoves Francis to his knees. “Protection services,” he says gutturally, “Are one blowjob a week.”_

_Francis nods slightly and tries not to look intimidated at the huge cock Max pulls out of his pants, already erect and veiny. “You ever suck a dick before?” Max asks with a grunt._

_Francis shakes his head slightly, looking more terrified by the moment._

_Max cards his fingers in Francis’ hair. “Keep your teeth off my cock,” he says, half-warning, half-advice. “If you can’t breathe at any point, tap my leg twice. Afterall,” Max adds, grinning with far too many teeth, “I don’t wanna break my new toy right away.”_

_Francis licks his lips. “Okay,” he says faintly. He tentatively licks Max’s cock and Max groans and puts his head back. Francis is encouraged by this and licks more, sweeping his tongue around the head. Then he takes the head inside his mouth as far as he can, which is quite far. He slides off Max’s cock slowly, his red lips dragging on the shaft, boldly making eye contact with Max despite the circumstances, before he swallows it back down again._

_“Yes, fuck, yes…” Max says, bracing his other hand against the wall behind Francis. “Oh, fuck, Char--Francis, your mouth feels fucking amazing, suck down my cock, yes, like that...”_

(“We can use ADR to fix that,” Emma mutters to Angel, who only nods, enthralled by the scene in front of the iPhone she is using as a camera.)

_Max is barely able to stand any longer by the time he puts his other hand in Francis’s hair and fucks his face. Francis is holding Max’s hips, his mouth wide, his lips covering his teeth, taking the face-fucking like a champ._

_Max abruptly takes a step back. “Close your mouth,” He grits to Francis. “I’m going to paint your fucking face so everyone knows you are my personal slut.”_

_“My glasses,” Francis whimpers._

_“Leave them,” Max grits out and in two strokes, white strands of semen are shooting out the tip of his cock and and covering Francis’ face and glasses in come._

_Francis is trembling a little, opening his eyes only after the onslaught is finished. Max is staring down at him with his right hand still gripping his cock. As if transfixed, Max moves his left hand to Francis’ jaw and swipes his thumb across Francis’ lower lip where a drop of semen has landed. Francis just gazes up at him, confused._

“Erik,” Charles said softly, barely moving his lips. Max was supposed to push Francis on his side and climb into his bunk, according to the script. 

“Shouldn’t I…” Erik hesitated. He hadn’t stopped staring at Charles’ come-splattered face and in fact looked almost hypnotized. “Shouldn’t I return the favor?”

Erik was floating in some kind of surreal haze. He had just had one of the best blowjobs and orgasms of his life all over his best friend’s face. He wanted so badly to suck Charles’ cock right now that it just seemed _wrong_ that it wasn’t in the script. 

“Cut,” called Emma. “No, Erik, you need to push him over, say you’re tired, and go to bed. You’re not in love yet at this point, okay? Max wouldn’t reciprocate this.”

“I’m sorry,” Erik whispered to Charles.

Charles smiled. “It’s all right,” he whispered back. “Let’s finish the scene.”

Erik nodded and tried to get his head together. 

“Max, let’s take it back to you enjoying your handiwork on Francis’s face, okay? You can do the thumb thing again; that was good. Then push him to the side as if you are done with him. You’re not hurting him, okay?”

Erik nodded. 

_Max drags his thumb across Francis’ swollen lower lip. “Not bad,” he says with a smirk. He pushes Francis to the side and Francis lands on his side with an indignant expression. Max flops on the lower bunk and closes his eyes._

“And...cut,” Emma said. “That was great, you guys. Really hot!”

“Very fucking hot,” Angel said fervently. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know…” Erik shook his head. “I hope I didn’t fuck that up.”

“Not at all,” Angel said firmly. “Easiest editing job ever, seriously. It’s going to be harder to replace that dialog where you said Charles’ name.”

“I did that?” Erik said. He tried to remember and couldn’t. He reached down and helped Charles stand up. Emma brought Charles a towel as she came over to Erik. 

“You did really well,” she said with a smile, touching him lightly on the shoulder. “Why don’t you rest, have some food. Angel and I will be back tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.” Erik still felt dazed. He walked to the living room and sat on the couch. He still felt--confused, like someone had turned his world inside out. It wasn’t an entirely pleasant feeling. 

Emma and Angel let themselves out. Erik heard Charles start the shower and he suddenly felt like a selfish asshole. Charles was the one in that scenario who had been--well, brutalized was too strong of a word, but anyway he’d been playing the part of the victim. Erik wanted to barge into the bathroom and make sure Charles was okay, but he thought it might be good to give Charles some space. Maybe he needed to decompress, too.

Was this normal for porn actors? Erik wondered. He was literally sitting on his hands to remind himself not to go bother Charles in the shower. Finally the shower stopped and Erik’s heart started to pound. What happened now? Did they just - go on like before, and pretend Erik hadn’t just had one of the hottest and exciting sexual encounters of his life?

He put his face in his hands and groaned just as Charles walked into the living room. “I’m sorry, would you rather be alone?” Charles asked timidly.

“No,” Erik almost yelped. “Are you--okay? I mean...Did I...was that alright?”

“Yes, of course,” Charles said coming around to sit on the couch, but at a slight distance from Erik. “Of course I’m fine, Erik; how could you have hurt me? You think I haven’t had my face fucked before?” His tone was light, but it was a little more distant than usual. 

“No, I just…” Erik trailed off. “That was weird.”

Charles didn’t reply and Erik shot a glance at his face and saw that Charles looked, well, hurt. “Not you,” Erik said quickly. “I mean, that was, uh, it was...fun.” He could feel his cheeks burning and was slightly mollified to see Charles’ burning as well. “It was weird because of the cameras,” he said. “Because...that’s not me, you know, they way Max is.”

Charles seemed to relax a bit at those words. “I know that, Erik,” he said with a genuine smile. “I have no doubt that you are a very considerate lover.” He paused for a moment and added in a low voice, “And you weren’t the only one who had fun.”

Charles’ voice had sex in it and Erik snapped his head up to look him in the eye. “Do you want me to suck you off?” Erik asked.

He immediately wanted to take the words back when he saw the scandalized look on Charles’ face. Oh god, he had crossed the line. Unless - that look meant Charles was going to say yes? Was Erik going to blow his roommate without the excuse of making a pornographic movie? He wanted to so bad he was practically salivating, but what would that mean for their friendship?

“Thank you,” Charles said carefully, “But I think I’m going to save it up for our next scene.”

Erik was torn between relief and disappointment. “Okay,” he said neutrally, nodding. He awkwardly realized he was sitting on what Charles had been using as a bed while his room was being used as the prison set and stood up quickly. “I think I’m going to retire early tonight.”

“Okay,” Charles said softly, not looking him in the eye. “Goodnight.”

**

The minute Erik closed his door, Charles had to jerk off, regardless of what he’d said to Erik about wanting to save it for the scene the next day. He couldn’t stop thinking about how good Erik had looked earlier while Charles was sucking his dick, how he had almost said Charles’ name, how fucking sexy his best friend was. 

And Erik’s offer to blow him...Charles had almost said yes, but Erik’s face looked like he regretted saying it the minute he did. Just because he was a considerate lover didn’t mean he _really_ wanted to do that with Charles, Charles rationalized. If he truly wanted Charles, surely it would have come up at some point previously in the almost three and a half years they’d been living together?

**

The next day the script called for Francis giving Max another blowjob and then Max makes Francis jerk off for his own enjoyment. 

“Finally,” Erik heard Charles groan. He actually felt the same; Charles was finally going to come. He found himself looking forward to that more than his own blowjob. 

“Practically criminal,” he muttered. Emma heard him and seemed to know exactly what he meant. She pulled him aside to speak to him privately. 

“I know it’s hard to stay in the game after you’ve come,” she said steadily. “But Max _is_ actually a criminal. Try to think: what would Max do? Even if it’s not in the script, a little improvising can be incredibly hot as long as it’s in character. You are a mean biker who is starting to care for Francis--you don’t really want to hurt him--but he has to know that you are in control, okay?”

Erik nodded, determined to stay in character. He told himself that Charles needed a house to live in more than he needed to orgasm and that helped him feel considerably less guilty. 

The second scene was set three weeks later, and the assumption was that Francis had been dutifully sucking his cellmate’s cock once a week per their protection agreement. The scene started out with Max naked on his back in his bunk, his hands laced behind his head, relaxing and letting Francis (also naked) do all the work. Francis is giving an unrealistically good blowjob for someone had never touched a cock before three weeks ago, but that’s movie magic for you.

_“Fuck, yes, Toy,” Max says contentedly after he spurts all over his stomach, thanks to the oral ministrations of the other man._

_Francis stands up and wipes his mouth, also naked. “Would it kill you to call me Francis?” he says, sounding irritated, as he goes over to his own bunk. “I think I’ve earned that, at least.”_

_“At least?” Max eyes Francis warningly. “It sounds like someone’s forgetting his place.”_

_“How could I forget when you are constantly reminding me?” Francis says tiredly, sitting down. “And I have needs too, you know.”_

_“I don’t fucking care about your needs,” Max snaps. “Now shut up, I’m trying to sleep.”_

_Francis lays down on his bunk and starts to jerk off. Max ignores him for a moment, but Francis is making a little too much noise for that to be believeable._

_“Fine,” Max finally says. “If you insist on doing that, you’d better make a goddamn show of it.”_

_He rolls out of his bunk and yanks Francis out of his by his arm. Francis lands on the ground, looking unhurt but fearful._

_“Come on, Toy,” Max sneers. “Put on a show for me. Isn’t that what you were just doing?”_

_Francis glares at Max, his lips tight, before an evil expression crosses his face and he starts to slowly, lazily, jerk himself off. His left hand moves across his chest, pinching and pulling on his nipples, dipping into his mouth as if he wishes there were something fucking his mouth besides fingers. He starts making indecent noises, loud enough that Max hisses at him to be quiet._

“Cut,” said Emma. “I have a great idea.”

Charles and Erik both turned to look at their de facto director with glazed eyes. They had both been pretty deeply in character and it was jarring to have that stopped when everything had been going so smoothly. 

“I’m going to show-up as the jailer to castigate you for making noise,” she explained, darting out to change. 

“That’s good,” Charles said thoughtfully. “Foreshadowing.”

“Foreshadowing what?” Erik asked. He was admiring Charles’ physique and barely aware that he was doing it. The position Charles was in, leaned back on both knees, brought out his best features: his strong thighs and broad shoulders. 

“Erik, have you read the script?” 

Erik snapped out of his ogling reverie. “The whole thing? No, not yet. Why?”

Charles gave Erik a funny look that he couldn’t quite decipher. “We should probably talk about it later.” Emma came back in the room just then, wearing a scandalously short and fully unrealistic guard’s uniform. 

“Okay, Charles, go back to the fingers in your mouth part and then start with the noises, okay?”

Charles tried to get back into character. Francis wants to show Max that no matter what Max does to him, he still has autonomy, he is still himself. (Charles was quite aware that he was probably over-thinking the character, but it didn’t stop him from doing it). 

_Francis resumes stroking his cock, gradually awakening his flagging erection as Max resumes watching, completely unselfconsciously. Francis tweaks his nipples and moans theatrically at the feel and then slips his fingers in his mouth. He chances a look at Max, who is gazing at him raptly, his mouth open slightly, his hands gripping the bunk he is sitting on, his knuckles turning white._

__(The white knuckles are a nice touch, Charles thought as Francis makes even more noises about what a good time he is having.) __

_“Be quiet,” Max hisses at him, hearing a noise. Francis just moans louder until Max comes over and physically covers up his mouth._

__(Covering Charles’ mouth was an improvisation on Erik’s part, but Emma gave him a thumbs-up when he did it.) __

_“You boys better keep it down in there,” the jailer says, coming into the shot so that only her back is visible. “Don’t make me do something I’m gonna regret.”_

_Max keeps his hand clamped over Francis’ mouth but Francis begins jerking off again, albeit quietly. Max isn’t sure what to do now,_ (Erik is technically off-script.) _Francis grabs the hand covering his mouth right as he is about to come and pushes it down so that he comes mostly into Max’s hand, then smirks at Max._

_“You little bitch,” Max says. His voice is annoyed, but it also holds reluctant respect and arousal. He brings his hand up to Francis’ face. “Lick it clean.”_

_Francis slowly, almost insolently, starts licking off Max’s digits as they are presented to him, keeping eye contact with Max the whole time. Max is staring at him, frozen, unable to look away._

__(“They are completely off-script,” Angel whispered to Emma.

“It’s hot, let’s see where they go with this,” Emma whispered back.) __

_Francis licks every bit of semen off Max’s hand and then finishes by sucking off Max’s thumb until it comes out of his mouth with a soft plop._

_Max is just staring at Francis, his mouth slightly open._

_“Goodnight, Max,” Francis says and climbs into his bunk._

“And...cut,” Emma said. Erik had that dazed look again, and he could hardly use having just come as an excuse. 

Although it could have been that there was no blood left in his brain, because his cock was quite obviously fully erect. Emma was practically salivating; she couldn’t wait to have her turn with that monster organ.

Charles helped Erik stand up. “You okay?” He said to his roommate with a grin. It was oddly flattering, that Erik sometimes got into this state after their scenes. 

“Yes. Yes, of course,” Erik said, shaking his head as if to clear it. “Are _you_ okay? I hope that wasn’t...what I said--it felt like the right thing to--I mean not the right thing, but it felt like what Max would do...” He didn’t know how to tell Charles that the rest of the world disappeared to him when they were doing this. It was all he could do to stay in character sometimes; he didn’t want to be Max, dammit, he wanted to be Erik, holding Charles, Erik kissing Charles, Erik fucking Charles…

“I’m fine,” Charles was saying to him softly. “Honestly. I would tell you if I was uncomfortable with anything, okay?”

Erik nodded, looking into Charles’ earnest blue eyes. His erection was still going strong as he put his robe on. He heard Angel asking Emma if he’d taken Viagra and she whispered she didn’t know. 

Erik walked into his room and flopped face down on his bed. It hurt his still-turgid cock but he didn’t care. Don’t think about Charles, he told himself. Don’t think about his lips. Don’t think about the noises he makes. Don’t think about about his _thighs_ , my god…

The object of all the things Erik was trying not to think about poked his head in Erik’s door. “Hey, the girls want to take us out for drinks. Do you want to go?”

Erik considered. Part of him wanted to dig a hole and never come out. Part of him wanted to drag Charles into that hole with him, along with a whole lot of lube. But, going out for drinks sounded fun if he could get his head together. It would be nice to spend time with Charles, happy, fun, Charles, instead of that subversive sex kitten Francis. Or nerdy sex demon. Erik tried to wrap his head exactly what stereotype Francis was and couldn’t, but the point was: Charles was better. 

“Erik?” Charles asked softly, and Erik realized he still hadn’t answered. At least his erection was going down.

“Can you give me thirty minutes?” He mumbled into his pillow. 

“No problem,” Charles said softly, and shut the door. Erik buried his head in his pillow and yelled. Charles didn’t deserve to be objectified this way by his roommate and supposed best friend. Charles had suggested making a porno to Erik because it was an expedient and reasonable way to make money; this was all about money. The sooner Erik could get through this, the sooner he could have his best friend back and life would go back to normal, without being tormented by images of Charles sucking his cock, Charles jerking off as he sucked on his own fingers…

Erik gave in and masturbated, even though he’d come not ninety minutes before. He felt better after his head was clearer. He took a shower and changed and was sitting in the living room feeling very composed when Charles came out of his bedroom (aka the prison set). “I was digging in my stuff for some decent clothes to wear to go out,” Charles said cheerfully, completely indifferent to the flip-flop Erik’s heart did when he saw Charles come out. 

“Two days off,” Erik mused. “I will hardly know what to do with myself.”

“Anything but get laid,” Charles joked. He held up two different shirts. “Which one: green or blue?”

“The blue one,” Erik said. 

“You always say the blue one,” Charles grumbled, taking off his robe and putting the blue shirt on. Erik shifted his eyes away.

“You know what it does for your eyes,” Erik said. He’d said something similar to Charles at least a hundred times, but for some reason this time he was blushing. 

**

The bar was crowded, busier than expected on a Thursday night. They were celebrating multiple things, apparently, including a successful first week of filming, Emma getting a big paycheck, and Angel getting a new job at the local bikini bar.

“It’s a step up from stripping!” She toasted, laughing. They all drank with her. 

“It’s a welcome change that the girls are buying the drinks tonight,” Charles said to Erik under his breath. Erik just grinned at him. Charles looked good enough to eat. 

“I don’t suppose you used any of those thirty minutes to read the script?” Charles said lightly, running his fingers up and down the neck of his beer bottle. Erik tried not to stare when Charles’ words registered. 

“Oh. Right. No, I didn’t. What is it you were talking about earlier?”

“The last scene of the script,” Charles said, close to Erik’s ear, “Is Max having sex with the jailer so that Francis can escape.”

Erik was so distracted by Charles’ breath on his ear that his words did not register right away. Charles was already continuing. “Well, the actual last scene is Francis showing up at the prison gate when Max is released a few years later. But there’s no sex in that one, and we’ll actually have to find another…” he paused upon seeing the expression on Erik’s face. 

“You want me to have sex with _Emma_?” Erik said in disbelief. 

“I didn’t say I _wanted_ that, per se, but it’s what the script Emma brought us calls for,” Charles pointed out. 

Erik frowned. “What are you trying to say?” 

Charles paused a bit before saying, “I believe Emma wants to have sex with you.”

Erik shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t--I don’t think I want to do that.”

“But you like women,” Charles said, in a reasonable tone. “And Emma is about as attractive as they come.”

Erik didn’t reply, and Charles looked at Erik for long enough that Erik felt a little like squirming. “You don’t like Emma, do you?”

“It’s not that,” Erik said, still not quite meeting Charles’ eyes. “It’s just...she was your best friend before me, before high school. And then during that year when you and I didn’t talk it seemed like you and Emma got pretty tight.” Erik spoke the next part so quietly he practically mumbled. “I was jealous.”

“Oh,” Charles said softly. He put his hand over Erik’s. “You’re my best friend, Erik; nothing’s going to change that.”

Erik felt warmed and devastated and confused at Charles’ words all at the same time. That’s what he wanted, wasn’t it? To be Charles’ best friend again, for things to go back to normal?

“The idea of me having sex with Emma doesn’t bother you?” Erik asked carefully, looking at Charles’ face. 

“Well,” Charles said with an exaggerated sigh, “Honestly, a threesome sounds better.” He grinned at Erik, but the other man didn’t seem very amused. 

“I want,” Erik said out loud, “another drink.” He went off determined to charm Angel into buying him another drink so he could put these complicated feelings to bed. So to speak.

**

Three days went by quickly; Erik even picked up some shifts at his construction job since the weather had improved. The next filming day was Monday evening, and since Charles knew what was up in the script he did the two enemas that Emma had advised. 

“My insides are as clean as my outsides,” He said to Erik with a grin as they changed into what they had taken to calling their ‘prison scrubs.’

“What’s disturbing is how excited you are about that,” Erik said dryly. Erik had been more himself recently, much to Charles’ relief. Charles knew that filming the movie was hard for Erik; he knew it was a huge sacrifice for Erik although in his heart of hearts he hoped it wasn’t _that_ huge a sacrifice.

Sometimes all Erik’s jokes about Charles “not being too revolting” got under his skin. He couldn’t begin to joke about Erik being unattractive because it was so patently untrue. He thought Erik was actually saying that Charles _was_ attractive, but he couldn’t be completely sure, seeing as how he wasn’t as obviously gorgeous as Erik. 

“Boys,” Emma said, inclining her head in greeting. Erik was cool towards her, but he always was. “Today, Max and Francis have anal sex for the first time, and it’s also when they fall in love. Of course, Francis is the bottom--” Erik smirked and Charles elbowed him. Emma continued after a small pause. “Charles, did you get a chance to…?”

“His insides are as clean as his outsides,” Erik said with mock solemnity. Charles giggled. 

“I’m glad you’re both in such a good mood,” Emma said with a little smile, but sincerely. She hesitated, then asked, “This may not matter, but--have you both barebacked before?”

Charles blushed. “No, actually.”

“I have,” Erik said, “but not as a top.” Charles gave Erik a questioning glance that Erik pretended not to see. 

“Okay,” said Emma. “You guys have both been pretty good with the improv, so when you get through with the dialog - just do whatever seems right, okay? As long as your dick--” to Erik “--ends up in his ass--” to Charles, “--you’re good. Oh, also pull out when you come,” she said, almost as an afterthought.

**  
 _Francis is irritable and he is pacing. Max is trying to read, but Francis’ pacing is very distracting._

_“What will it take to make you stop this?” Max finally sighs._

_“You know what I want,” Francis snaps. “It’s been almost two months. I want a cigarette, goddammit.”_

_“So buy one.” Max is affecting boredom, but he is actually very interested in where this conversation is going._

_“And how do I do that?” Francis asks, still pacing. “The only currency anyone seems interested in is my ass.”_

_“So pay with that,” Max says, turning a page in his book._

_Francis stops pacing and turns to look at Max with wide eyes. “I--what? Is that an option? I thought you said no one but you--”_

_“No one but me,” Max repeats firmly, possessively. His eyes caress Francis’ body before he turns back to his book._

_Francis stares at him. “You don’t have cigarettes,” he says flatly. “I would know. I would smell them.”_

_“I can get them,” Max says nonchalantly, flipping a page in his book. “If it’s worth it to me.”_

_Francis stares at Max for a while, shifting his weight restlessly. “You want my ass,” he says._

_“You know I do.”_

_Francis doesn’t say anything for a long time. Max is reading his book, or pretending to._

_“If fucking me is so damn important to you,” Francis says bitterly, “Why haven’t you just forced me?”_

_Max is still not looking at him. “I don’t want you that way. I’m not a rapist.”_

_“It’s a fine line, isn’t it?”_

_Max finally looks away from his book to fix Francis with a cold stare. “I haven’t forced you to do anything, Francis. I have asked, or you have offered, services in exchange for other services. That is a transaction. Exchanging one thing of value for another. I protect you from people who _would_ rape you, probably violently, and in return, you give me one voluntary blowjob per week. It’s a very generous arrangement.” _

_Francis looks at Max with a trembling lip. “I know it is,” he says quietly after a moment. “And thank you for calling me Francis.”_

_Max is finally just looking at Francis instead of his book. “You can really get me cigarettes?” Francis says. He turns and faces away from Max. Max silently comes to stand behind him._

_“A whole pack,” Max says. His voice is low and intense._

_Francis doesn’t say anything for a moment. “Does it hurt?” He finally asks quietly._

_Max is not a liar. “It can. But I don’t want to hurt you.” He moves closer to Francis, and lowers his voice further, until he is practically whispering. “It can also be really good. I want to make it good for you.”_

_Francis turns around and looks up at Max. They are barely six inches apart. “Do you think you could--do it without--” Francis swallows, “--humiliating me? Without calling me a slut, or anything like that?”_

_Max looks down at Francis and he realizes how cruel he’s been. He blinks a few times. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think…” he trails off, unsure of himself, for once. “That’s how it’s always been, in here,” he says finally. “That’s how it was for me. I didn’t know you would be so...”_

That is the end of the written dialog. Erik knows that this is the moment when Max is supposed to be falling in love with Francis, which Erik means can finally make love to Charles the way he’s been wanting to all week. He has one hand on either side of Charles’ face, with his thumbs brushing Charles’ cheekbones, carefully memorizing every feature and small imperfection, from his beautiful blue eyes to the two freckles on his nose. He bends his head until his lips are just brushing Charles’ before he glides his tongue along Charles’ lips and then dips inside his mouth for a taste.

Charles realized just as Erik’s lips touched his that not only was this Max’s and Francis’ first kiss, but it was also Charles’ and Erik’s as well. Erik kissed much more softly than Charles was expecting, at first, but the kiss rapidly picked up steam and soon Charles found their tongues battling as they raced to rip each others clothing off.

(One of the shirts did actually rip, which concerned Emma until Angel said “I expected something like this might happen; I have a spare set for each of them.”)

Erik paused to grin against Charles’ mouth and then Charles felt himself being lifted, bridal style. He gasped in surprise and put his arms around Erik’s neck. “It’s okay, I won’t drop you,” Erik murmured, carefully laying Charles on the bunk. Erik lay on top of him, kissing and touch his way from Charles’ neck down his torso. Charles made a rainbow of sounds, from soft whimpers to moans to grunts. He wasn’t holding anything back and it was all music to Erik’s ears.

Charles’ cock was flushed and beautiful, and Erik nuzzled it for a moment before swallowing it down to it’s base right when it first passed his lips. Charles gasped as he instinctively arched his back to thrust himself further into Erik’s mouth. The hot wetness of Erik on his cock was almost unbearable, and Charles ran his fingers through Erik’s hair, tugging lightly.

“Don’t get too carried away with that,” he gasped to Erik with a happy smile. “I want you to fuck my ass before I come.”

“I fucking love it when you swear,” Erik said desperately, tonguing Charles’ frenulum while he simultaneously coated two of his fingers in slick from the conspicuously convenient jar of lube. 

“Fuck you,” Charles said, in a low breathy voice.

“Fuck you, too,” Erik replied, as he always did and then froze at the same time Charles did. That wasn’t in character. That was _their thing_ , the thing they had been saying to each other since they were fifteen. Erik looked Charles in the eye and knew they could no longer pretend to each other that this was Francis and Max; this was Charles and Erik.

And they both wanted each other. 

Erik sucked Charles’ cock down again as he nudged his two fingers inside Charles. “Oh, fuck,” Charles moaned, grinding onto Erik’s hand like he already wanted more. Charles was gripping Erik’s shoulders tightly and whimpering, angling his hips and trying to get friction on his cock by rubbing it against Erik’s stomach. 

“I thought you wanted me to fuck your ass first,” Erik murmured, kissing his way down Charles’ chest. He swiped his tongue across a nipple and was very pleased with the strangled noise Charles made in response. He moved his fingers inside Charles, watching Charles’ expressive face for a cue as to when he was in the right spot. 

He needn’t have worried about looking for cues; Charles soon moaned, “Right _there_ , right fucking there, rub it please, yes, oh my god…”

Abruptly Charles twisted away. Erik was terrified that he’d hurt Charles for a split second until Charles gasped. “I don’t want to come yet, Er--fuck me, please!”

It was the sexiest thing Erik had ever heard. He pushed both of Charles’ legs up with one arm and stroked some lube onto his cock with the other. 

“Ready?” He whispered to Charles. He so turned on, he was afraid he wouldn’t last long. 

He expected Charles to tell him to get on with it already, but to his surprise Charles bit his lip. “Please go slow,” he whispered. “You’re--big.”

Was Charles still in character? Erik nodded, mutely, feeling suddenly and unexplainably - somewhat rejected, if Charles were still acting. His cock didn’t feel any less eager, fortunately, and he almost forgot what had gotten in the way of his bliss when he felt Charles opening against the blunt head of his cock. 

Charles made a very high-pitched noise and grabbed his shoulders hard enough to dig in. Erik stopped, breathing heavily. “Don’t stop,” Charles panted, his eyes screwed shut. “Just - slow.” Erik exerted every bit of control he had to continue pushing his cock into Charles as slowly as he could, his arms trembling where he held himself above the other man. When his hips were finally flush against Charles’ ass, he had a surreal moment when he thought _I am fucking my best friend._ He started long, slow, thrusts, engrossed by by the contortions of Charles’ face as he moaned, “Yes, yes, yes, fuck, yes…”

“Can I ride you?” Charles whispered, nearly incoherent. Erik nodded and pulled out so they could flip over. Erik made a long and embarrassing groan as Charles re-impaled himself on Erik’s cock a centimeter at a time. Erik’s hands fisted in the blanket underneath him because Charles was holding himself up and controlling the pace, and Erik didn’t know what to do with his hands until he noticed Charles’ erect cock bobbing between them. He re-lubed his hand from the jar and started slowly stroking Charles’ cock, enjoying the look on Charles’ face when his eyes snapped open in surprise at the feel of Erik’s hand on him. 

“Want you - to come - first,” Charles groaned. 

“No, you,” Erik said through gritted teeth. The hot tightness of Charles around his cock felt unbearably good.

“I’m close,” Erik warned.

“Me too,” Charles said in an abruptly higher voice. “Do you think we can do it at the same time?”

Erik grinned. “Let’s find out.” 

Erik sped up his hand as he felt Charles’s ass clamp around him and then suddenly pull off. Charles was spurting on Erik’s chest and Erik was seconds behind him after Charles reached down to squeeze his cock.

Charles collapsed on his side next to Erik, panting heavily. Erik took advantage of the position to kiss Charles again. Charles was grinning at him. “Almost simultaneous,” he said. “We’re pros already.”

 _I love you._ It was on the tip of Erik’s tongue but he was afraid to take that final step. Surely Charles knew it, anyway, from the way Erik was touching and kissing him. He couldn’t stop. 

Except that he was stopping, because he was falling asleep. He put an arm under Charles’ head and one over him and let sleep claim him for a little moment. Surely he’d earned a nap and a snuggle. 

He was drowsily aware of the girls talking and Charles cleaning him up with a warm washcloth. Charles’ energy was bright and happy and Erik tried to pull him close for more snuggling when Charles said, “It’s _me_ , you dope,” and Erik was suddenly much more awake. 

He opened his eyes. “Of course it’s you,” he said, blinking aware the lethargy. “Who else would it be?”

Charles laughed lightly like Erik told some kind of adorable joke. “You’re not done for the day, sleepyhead,” Charles said with a smile. “You should take a quick shower; Angel needs to put you in make-up for the next scene.”

“It’s not the-- wait, this isn’t - Emma -” Erik almost panicked at the thought of that scene.

“No, no, not yet,” Charles said, tugging on Erik’s arm. “This one should be easy; there’s no sex or dialog in it.” Erik reluctantly sat up. “Also, the girls want to ply us with alcohol again tonight, if you’re up for it?”

“Ok,” Erik said. Another scene with no dialog and no sex? What could that be about? Erik wished he’d read the entire script. Then, drinks again. “Do _you_ want to go out for drinks again?”

“Yes, silly, that’s why I’m asking you.” How was Charles so unruffled when Erik felt like his world was on its ear? The only explanation that came to Erik was that Charles was not as affected by the sex they’d been having as Erik was. Erik felt suddenly like there was a rock at the bottom of his stomach, but he still wanted to be around Charles. 

“Then I’ll go.” Erik stood and looked at Charles for a moment longer than was probably appropriate and then went to the shower.

Charles sighed and wondered how long he’d have to keep up the cheerful that-sex-didn’t-mean-anything-to-me facade before Erik began acting normally around him again. 

The next scene required considerable prep time, because Angel had to put Erik in heavy makeup to simulate Max having been in a huge fight in order to get what he had promised Francis. Actually doing the scene was quite easy after that; Max staggers into the cell, bruised and bloody, and collapses just in time for Francis to catch him in his arms. Then Max hands Francis a pack of cigarettes. 

The “hurt/comfort montage” was also pretty easy from Erik’s perspective; basically he lay in his bunk pretending to be half-conscious and looked adoringly at Francis/Charles while the latter changed bandages or held a glass of water for him to sip from. Angel came over and removed some make-up every few minutes so it looked like Max was gradually healing under Francis' care.

Erik felt he had regained a mostly-normal headspace by the end of filming that day. He was more than ready to have another shower and go out for a couple drinks after having spent all day either fucking or on his back (sometimes both). 

**

“I can’t tell you how pleased I am with how this is going,” Emma said to Charles, Erik, and Emma as they all toasted Max and Francis. “I wish I could tell you that meeting for drinks tonight is entirely social, but we do have some business to discuss.”

Erik grumbled, predictably. Everyone ignored him.

“I have prepared a contract,” Emma said coolly. “In a nutshell, I propose that each of the four of us collects 25% of the profits from streaming or download revenue.”

There was silence for a moment before Charles said, “What about the scriptwriter? If we make anything off this, it’s because they wrote a great script.”

“Oh, honey, I thought you knew. I’m the scriptwriter,” Emma said with a small smile. 

“Oh!” Charles blinked. “In that case, what you are proposing sounds more than fair.”

Emma turned to their camera operator and make-up artist (and set advisor). “Angel?”

“Sounds good to me!”

Somewhat trepidatiously, Emma turned to Erik. Charles and Angel tensed a bit. “Erik?”

Erik looked at Charles, his face blank. “If Charles is happy, I’m happy.”

Emma looked pleasantly surprised. Charles was blushing. Angel had an eyebrow raised speculatively. 

“Excellent,” Emma said briskly. “We should discuss a few things about the next scene, the one where Max has sex with the jailer. I was thinking--”

“No,” said Erik bluntly. 

Emma shot a glance at Charles. “There’s not really another time we can discuss this, Erik--”

“I meant, no, I’m not fucking you.”

Angel stood up. “I need to - get another drink,” she said hastily, and disappeared.

Emma’s cheeks colored slightly but that was the only sign that Emma might have been affected by what Erik said.

“Well, um, obviously you shouldn’t do anything you are not comfortable with,” Charles said awkwardly, looking anxiously between Emma and Erik. “Maybe--could it still work if the roles were swapped? Francis could have sex with the jailer while Max escapes.”

Emma considered that while looking at Charles thoughtfully. “It’ll be like the summer of 2000 all over again,” Emma said to him with a wink. “Sure, hon, I could make that--”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Erik interrupted. He had been more and more uncomfortable listening to the conversation. “What happened the summer of 2000?” Erik remembered what hadn’t happened--he and Charles hadn’t been talking or hanging out that summer. It had been one of the most miserable times of Erik’s life. 

“Well, that’s when--” Emma broke off when she saw the panicked expression on Charles’ face. She looked at Erik’s deep frown and smiled tolerantly. “You know what, I’m going to excuse myself from this conversation.” She left to find Angel.

“What happened the summer of 2000?” Erik repeated to Charles. 

Charles swallowed nervously. “Um, I think Emma was referring to when she and I had sex.” The last few words were spoken so quietly they were almost a whisper. 

Erik stared at Charles for a moment. “You fucked Emma? That summer when we were--” He cut himself off and put his hand over his mouth. Charles didn’t know what to say so he just looked back at Erik with his heart pounding, trying to feel like he had nothing to feel bad about.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Erik said, and he definitely sounded hurt. 

“I don’t know, it was just a really...awkward and not entirely successful interaction. I was still trying to figure out my sexuality…” Charles trailed off. “By the time you and I were talking again, I had realized I was gay, and talking about having sex with a girl, with you...I don’t know. I just didn’t want to talk about it, okay?” Charles started to get a little defensive as he realized he’d done nothing wrong. Even though it didn’t feel that way when he saw the look on Erik’s face. 

“Well, that’s just great,” Erik said finally, standing up. “It looks like you’re going to get a second crack at her, so don’t fuck it up this time.” He stalked off to the bar. 

Charles sat at the table with his jaw dropped. What was that supposed to mean? Why was this such a big deal to Erik? Charles had only suggested the script change so that Erik wouldn’t have to do something he was uncomfortable with; did Erik think that Charles genuinely wanted to have sex with Emma?

Angel came and sat down near Charles. He smiled at her distractedly. “I just want you to know that this movie you’re making--it’s really hot,” Angel said, with an embarrassed smile. 

Charles smiled back, charmed despite himself, and grateful for the distraction. “Don’t you mean this movie that _we’re_ making? You’re a rather integral part, my dear.” 

She smiled wider and cocked her head at him. “You don’t happen to be into women, do you?” The way she licked her lips immediately after left no doubt as to what she was suggesting. 

“I’m extremely flattered, and though you are a lovely girl, I’m afraid you are barking up the wrong tree,” Charles said gently. “I’m not the one who likes girls.” Charles eyes’ inadvertently slipped to Erik’s back, where he had taken a seat at the bar on the far side of the room, facing away from Charles. 

“Oh.” Angel turned to follow Charles’ eyes and saw Erik sitting alone at the bar. “Oh! You and Erik--um, you’re not together, are you?”

“No, we’re not together,” Charles said quietly, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. 

“So you wouldn’t mind if I, you know, hooked up with him?” Angel was not even looking at Charles now, as her head was turned towards Erik.

“Nope,” Charles said, taking a sip of his beer and looking away, towards neither of them. “Go for it.”

Charles watched as Angel approached Erik and said something to him. They conversed briefly for a moment. Charles knew he should look away but he couldn’t, although he started to feel slightly nauseated when Angel laughed at something Erik said and put her hand on his arm. Erik turned his head to look at Charles when Angel indicated him and Charles quickly plastered a fake smile on his face and raised his beer in a toast. It was hard to see the expression on Erik’s face from across the room but he looked at Charles for another few seconds before he slowly stood, put his coat on, and followed Angel out the door. He gave Charles one more long look before he was gone. 

Emma came over to him them. “You okay, sugar? You don’t look so well.”

He rubbed his face. “It’s complicated. Emma, is it possible to rewrite the ending so nobody has sex with the jailer? Please don’t take offense,” he added quickly. “You are a very beautiful woman, I just…” he trailed off. “I just don’t think I can.”

“I’m more offended that you think I would be offended,” Emma said lightly. “I don’t need to have sex to feel validated.” She paused and then said quietly, “anymore.” 

Charles didn’t say anything for a few moments, smiling slightly and looking at Emma. He knew she didn’t let people in, not really, not even him. But there was a strength to her that he had always liked and appreciated. He put his hand over hers and squeezed.

“I’ll figure out an ending that doesn’t involve the jailer,” Emma said after a moment. “You, I think, should go find Erik. I feel like you two have a lot to talk about.” She stood up. “I’ll see you later.” She kissed him on the cheek and left. 

**

Charles didn’t go after Erik, even though he knew Emma was probably right. Instead he sat morosely at the bar and ordered the cheapest beer on the menu.

“Hey, Chuck.”

It was Logan. Charles looked up in surprise. “Logan! How long have you been here?”

“Me? I just got here. Just started my shift. You doin’ okay?”

“It’s complicated,” Charles said for the second time that day. “Erik--” and then he was mortified to feel himself start crying. “Oh, shit.”

Logan looked at him sympathetically. “Aw, Chuck. Did you guys have a fight?”

“Not exactly, I just...he’s mad at me and now he’s off having sex with somebody else and pretending like what we did didn’t mean anything and I just want everything to go back to normal,” Charles hiccuped, his words tumbling out in one long sentence. 

“Something happen between you guys?” Logan asked gently, pouring Charles another beer. He nodded at it. “On the house.”

“We’ve been--making this--movie,” Charles said awkwardly. “A porno. For money.”

Logan looked at him disbelievingly. “Soo...you guys have been having sex, and now you’re surprised that things are different?”

“It sounds stupid when you say it that way,” Charles mumbled, taking a sip of his beer. 

Logan just gave Charles a disbelieving look and shook his head before he started wiping down the counter. 

“So he’s fucking someone else right now?” Logan said, continuing to work as he talked to Charles.

“Yes,” Charles said unhappily. “I wish he wasn’t.” He hadn’t even really had the thought until he said it out loud. He tried not to picture Erik having sex with Angel, but it was all too easy as he now knew what Erik looked like when he was aroused, how incredibly sexy he was, how he had broken character to offer Charles a blowjob on set. And for some reason that reminded Charles of how Erik had let Charles move in three and a half years ago and had never charged him a penny of rent. And how Erik always made sure Charles was warm enough, and how when he was sleepy he always wanted to cuddle...

“Oh god,” Charles said suddenly, loudly, as he realized what he was feeling. Several heads in the bar swivelled to look at him. “Oh my god,” he repeated more quietly to himself. He looked up at Logan, his face open wide with wonder. “I think I’m in love with my best friend,” he whispered.

Logan smiled. “That sounds like something you should be telling him, not me.”

**

Although he could have easily gotten a ride home from someone at the bar, Charles chose to walk home to clear his head. He was a little drunker than he wanted to be to tell Erik...tell Erik...wait, what was he doing? He couldn’t tell Erik that he loved him. Erik was mad at him for sleeping with Emma, even though that was stupid and had happened a million years ago, and Erik was currently balls-deep in Angel. Charles’ alcohol-marinated brain realized: telling Erik he was in love with him would make living with him impossible. Charles swallowed as he trudged through the slush and blinked furiously to keep tears from falling. 

He opened the front door quietly. There was a light under Erik’s bedroom door and Charles heard soft voices that he tried not to listen to too closely. Charles stood in the living room gazing at the crack of light and decided he would not knock. He didn’t want to cock-block his best friend. He would wait until Erik came out. But he wanted to talk to Erik the minute he came out. And he didn’t want to go to his bed and sleep in the bed where they had made lo--no, where they had had sex. Where they’d fucked.

Charles sat on the floor with his back to the wall next to Erik’s door. He told himself it wasn’t too creepy to sit there and wait but his last thought before he fell asleep was: _So what if it is too creepy? I’ll be moving out soon anyway._

**

Erik came out of his room early the next morning and almost tripped over the man sleeping in front of his door. “Charles! Why--what--why are you sleeping on the floor?”

Charles’ eyes opened blearily. “Erik? Where’s Angel?”

“What? You want--Angel?”

“No.” Charles rubbed his eyes with his fist, struggling to sit up. Erik shushed the voice inside him that thought that movement was absolutely adorable. “I just--thought she was here.”

Erik knelt next to Charles. “No, she’s not here,” he said softly. “She dropped me off last night, but she didn’t stay.”

“But I heard voices, coming from your room,” Charles said, confused.

Erik looked at him affectionately and one side of his mouth turned up. “Netflix,” he said. 

Charles was finding it hard to look Erik in the eye. “So you didn’t…” he swallowed as Erik patiently waited for him to finish his question. “You didn’t--have sex with her?”

Erik felt a welling of hope in him at Charles’ question. “No,” he said. “I didn’t.” He didn’t know what to say now. Erik felt like his emotions were choking off his voice. 

Charles looked slightly happier at Erik’s words, though. He turned to look at Erik for a moment before he said anything else. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about sleeping with Emma in high school,” he finally said. “You are my best friend; I should have.”

“I overreacted,” Erik said honestly. “I know that happened a long time ago. And even though,” Erik swallowed at the unpleasantness of what he was going to say next, but it still had to be said, “Even though _I_ can’t do it, I understand if you need to sleep with her to finish the movie.”

Charles shook his head. “I told her I won’t. She’s going to rewrite the ending so nobody sleeps with the jailer.”

Erik closed his eyes. Charles’ words made Erik feel like joy was bubbling out of him and he couldn’t contain it any longer. “Charles, I have to tell you something.”

“I have to tell you something too,” Charles said. His voice broke on the last word. 

Erik grasped Charles’ hand and squeezed it. “Let’s do it at the same time; maybe it will be easier that way.”

Charles looked slightly confused but nodded. They made eye contact and breathed in together. Then Erik said “I love you,” while Charles simultaneously said “I need to move out.”

The two men gaped at each other.

“You’re moving _out_?”

“You _love_ me?”

“Why are you moving out?”

“Because I didn’t think you loved me!”

Erik kissed Charles with desperate relief, then leaned his forehead against the other man’s, making a sound that was half a laugh and half a sob. “Of course I love you! It’s why I’ve been acting like a fool ever since we started this whole project. It’s been killing me to be _Max_ , to be this guy that treats you like an asshole when all I wanted to do was make you feel good as you make me feel.”

Charles had a soft, happy look on his face. “Oh, Max isn’t so bad,” he said lightly. “I like Erik better, but I have to admit Max is pretty sexy.”

“No. Uh-uh. You know what’s sexy? You. Even when you are being Francis, that--that--nerdy sex demon.”

“Nerdy sex demon?” Charles said in mock outrage. “Fuck you!”

“Fuck you, too,” Erik whispered, somehow managing to both smile and kiss Charles again at the same time. “Fuck you for as long as you will have me.”

**

Even though they’d had plenty of sex that week already, they somehow found the energy to do it several more times in the next couple days before Charles noticed that he had several missed calls from Emma. 

“I have a closing scene that will work, and doesn’t require anyone else to have sex,” Emma announced when Charles called her back. 

“Oh, well,” Charles said lightly, trying to ignore Erik kissing his way up Charles’ body from his knee. “That’s great, but if Max and Francis need to have sex again that’s okay too-- _Hey!_ That tickles!”

“Sounds like you two have patched things up,” Emma said dryly. 

“Erik and I are in love,” Charles announced proudly. 

“Tell me something the entire town didn’t figure out a decade ago,” Emma sighed, but Charles could hear the smile in her voice. She was back to business quickly. “Angel and I need to come over and film one thing with me in the prison cell, then you can strike the set.” 

“Sounds good,” Charles said. “We’ll be decent in an hour.” He disconnected the call. “We have an hour before we have company,” he said to Erik, as he very deliberately licked his lips. “Any ideas of what we could do until then?”

Erik, as it turned out, did have some ideas.

**

They were showered and decent just barely in time for Emma and Angel to arrive. Emma shoved crumpled-up newspapers under the blankets of the ‘jail cell bunks’ to approximate sleeping men. Then Angel filmed while Emma walked in in her sexy guard’s uniform and dramatically tore the covers back to reveal the newspapers. “I knew I shouldn’t have let myself get distracted,” the jailer said. “They’ve both escaped!” Emma froze for a moment, then said, “That’s a wrap.”

“So...that’s it? Isn’t that--I mean the ending seems really simple compared to the rest of the story,” Charles said with a frown. 

Emma smiled at him. “Don’t forget it’s about the sex, sugar, and the sex in this is hot. As long as the ending is happy I don’t think we’ll get many complaints.”

“So what happens now?” Erik asked Emma, his arm around Charles.

“Well, Angel and I will edit it, and then upload it to several sites where people can pay to either view it as a stream or pay more to own a copy. Kind of like...iTunes, but for pornography.” 

“How soon before we start to see some income from it?” Charles asked. He hadn’t forgotten that regardless of how blissfully happy he was with Erik, they still needed to figure out a way to pay off the property taxes if they intended to keep living there. 

“Most of the money will probably be made right away,” Emma said. “The newer a video is, the more attention it gets, usually. But there will be a trickle after that for a long time.”

Erik and Charles looked at each other. They had about six weeks before the property taxes were due. 

“When are you going back to Los Angeles, Emma?” Charles asked. 

Emma started to answer then hesitated. “I’m not sure yet. Not for another month at least.” 

Charles raised his eyebrows at her suddenly extended visit. She refused to meet his eyes, though, so Charles dropped the subject. 

**

The four of them met together about four weeks later because Emma said she had checks for them. Erik and Charles were each very pleased to receive checks for $4,628 each. Just enough to pay off the taxes if they combined them, and enough left over to buy a couple drinks.

“Thank you for this, Emma,” Erik said sincerely. He seemed to have warmed up to Emma quite a bit in the past month. “You had the idea and the script and honestly--” he smiled at Charles, “--it couldn’t have turned out better for me.”

“Well,” Emma said slowly, “You two appear to be gathering some fans, so if you have any interest in making another movie, I think you might do even better.”

Erik and Charles looked at each other. “What did you have in mind?” Erik asked cautiously. 

“There seems to be considerable interest around seeing the two of you in a fake-marriage situation,” Emma said with a smile. “I’ve been working on a script for that.”

“I’d watch it,” Charles said eagerly. “Yes, let’s do it! Erik, what do you think?”

Erik contemplated it. “We’d only fuck each other, right?”

Emma nodded. 

“We’ll need you both to help us again,” Charles said earnestly, looking at Angel and Emma, and then addressing Emma directly. “Does this mean you won’t be returning to Los Angeles?”

Emma expression slowly became more serious. “Um. I may have...misled you, a bit, about how glamorous my life was there. I really didn’t enjoy having sex on camera; I enjoy writing and directing and producing for you two a lot more. So to answer your question: If you want to do this, I won’t be returning to LA.”

Charles smiled so wide it hurt his face. “Good. I’ve missed you the past ten years, Emma! And if you hadn’t misled me about your experience with porn, Erik and I might still be drowning in unresolved sexual tension, and that’s not a movie anyone wants to see.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “You’d be surprised,” she said.

THE END


	2. Art by RussianManiac

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artwork for "Charles and Erik Make a Porno" that I commissioned from [Russian Maniac!](http://russianmaniac666.tumblr.com/)


End file.
